Mine That Bird May Run In Preakness

Mine That Bird stood regally, his earspricked, his gaze fixed on the rows of clicking cameras. Then the50-1 upset winner of the Kentucky Derby put his head down and beganmunching on grass, leaving his human handlers still in shock abouthis stunning 6¾-length victory a day earlier. "It's hard to believe we come in here and actually won thisthing," bareback rider-turned-trainer Bennie Woolley Jr. saidSunday morning. "Right now it's a little overwhelming." As proof, Mine That Bird wore a cream blanket with embroideredred roses proclaiming him as the Derby winner. Whether he moves on to run in the 1 1-16-mile Preakness on May16 will be decided in the next couple days, Woolley said. "The Preakness tends to be a little more speed-biased and Idon't know that that's going to fit our horse all that well," hesaid. If Mine That Bird skips the middle jewel of the Triple Crown,he'll be pointed toward the Belmont Stakes in June. Woolleybelieves the grueling 1½-mile "Test of the Champion" would suitthe gelding, whose father Birdstone won the 2004 Belmont. The Derby winner hasn't bypassed the Preakness since 1996, whenGrindstone was injured between the two races and retired. The Derbywinner has followed up by winning the Preakness seven times in thelast 12 years. Mark Allen wants to see the horse he and Leonard Blach purchasedfor $400,000 before last year's Breeders' Cup run in Baltimore. "If this horse is doing good, you bet we'll run, but he's goingto have to tell us," he said. "The horse will tell us. We don'towe nobody nothing." Going into the Derby, Woolley, along with co-owners Allen andBlach, had the modest goal of finishing sixth or better with thegelding they vanned from New Mexico to compete against some of thesport's priciest horseflesh. "The horse was training good, we knew that," Allen said, "butwe were going against guys like D. Wayne Lukas and Bob Baffert, soyou got to be real about it." Under an expert rail-hugging ride by Calvin Borel, Mine ThatBird came flying home in the mud to earn a victory that was worth$1.4 million. He'd never even run in a Grade 1 stakes race beforeSaturday. Baffert and Lukas, both Hall of Fame trainers who own a combinedseven Derby victories, later offered their congratulations to theself-described cowboys who came up the same way they did, owningand training quarterhorses. Woolley, Allen and Blach didn't bet on Mine That Bird, whose$103.20 win payout was the second-largest in Derby history. "I figured he'd go off at 100-1," Woolley said. "Everyplaymaker in the Form and everything else said he had the biggestchance to run last of anybody." While Mine That Bird's connections considered his Preaknessprospects, potential rivals were lining up to take him on. Trainer Gary Stute said Papa Clem, who finished fourth in theDerby, will run in the Preakness. "I looked at the charts this morning and I was only beaten anose and a head for second," he said. "Baffert's horse (Pioneerofthe Nile) came over and bumped me. If it were a normal race theremight have been an inquiry. With any luck we could have beensecond." Other possible starters from the Derby are runner-up Pioneerofthe Nile, third-place Musket Man, Join in the Dance (7th), GeneralQuarters (10th) and wagering favorite Friesan Fire, who finishednext-to-last. Potential new shooters are Delta Jackpot winner Big Drama,Withers winner Mr. Fantasy, Take the Points and Miner's Escape. ThePreakness is limited to 14 starters. After a steady rain gave way to overcast skies, Woolley andAllen made their way to the front gate of Churchill Downs. They placed the winner's garland of red roses on the recentlyunveiled statue of Barbaro, the 2006 Derby winner who broke down inthe Preakness and had to be euthanized nine months later. After fans had a chance to take photos, the garland was removed.The two men then stripped the blanket of its flowers and handedthem out to a long line of fans, some of whom told Woolley andAllen they had cashed big win tickets on Mine That Bird. Several people congratulated and thanked the buddies, who firstmet up in a New Mexico bar 25 years ago. "I started a fight and he helped me out," Allen said, noddingin Woolley's direction. "We wound up on top, but it took us awhile." They could say the same thing about their road to improbableDerby glory.

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